Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from September 2001

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from September 2001

REVERSE OSMOSIS: Mycelyx-Infused Media Prefilters Organics.
September 19, 2001... Mycelyx Technologies Corp. has developed oleophilic polymer filters that offer first pass efficiency of 99.99% with minimal pressure drop during oil and organics-filled water pretreatment before reverse osmosis (RO). Some estimates figure...

ULTRAFILTRATION: Pellicon Scalable from Sample to Production.
September 19, 2001... Millipore has added to its life science product line with the Labscale TFF system and Pellicon XL 50, a choice of UF or MF membrane within a scalable "plug and process" cassette, that can be used for concentrating, desalting, and exchanging...

Homegrown Method Purifies Indian Sugar.
September 19, 2001... Scientists at India's Tata Energy Research Institute have developed high-temperature-tolerant polymeric membranes for manufacturing chemical-free sugar with improved product yields and superior quality. According to the Tata researchers,...

MICROFILTRATION: UPE Improves Performance.
September 19, 2001... Microgard Plus, the latest addition to Mykrolis Corp's Microgard product line, incorporates an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UPE) membrane that provides excellent retention properties, low surfactant binding, superior downstream...

PTFE Filters Microbes from Moist Gas.
September 19, 2001... Millipore has developed a high-performance gas filter that removes bacteria and viruses from moist gas streams even during the most extreme conditions of industrial fermentation. The Aerex 2 cartridge is designed to withstand aggressive-use...

Open Pore Structure Improves Flow, Wicking.
September 19, 2001... USFilter researchers have developed large-pore asymmetric polysulfone membranes that improve flow rates and wicking performance while retaining good separation capabilities. The membranes may be used for blood separation in diagnostic or...

GAS SEPARATION: Silicone Rubber Improves Hydrogen Selectivity.
September 19, 2001... Membrane Technology and Research (MTR) scientists have created silicone rubber membranes that improve methane removal and reuse unreacted hydrogen from hydrocarbon conversion reactors at refineries and petrochemical plants. The thin, robust,...

Irregularities Increase Active Surface Area.
September 19, 2001... Praxair scientists have discovered a method of improving the transport properties of ion-conducting ceramic membranes with a surface treatment that creates submicroscopic ridges and voids, increasing surface area and enhancing permeation rates....

BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANES Sensor Detects Platinum in Fluids.
September 19, 2001... Kazan State University scientists have devised a biosensor that uses an electrode with a nitrocellulose membrane to measure extremely low concentrations of platinum in blood plasma, serum, urine, and tissue. The membrane resists nonspecific...

INDUSTRY NEWS: B&V Reports Trends in Water Reclamation.
September 19, 2001... According to Black & Veatch's Scott Freeman, "The large-scale use of membranes for water re-use is in its infancy." But the technology has advanced from a perception as "Buck Rogerish" as recently as 1991, to a practicable method installed at...

Floridians Protest Plan to Discharge RO Brine.
September 19, 2001... Save Our Bay, Air and Canals, a Tampa Bay area citizen's group, is challenging plans that would allow Tampa Bay Desal to dump 19.5 million gal. of concentrated brine per day from its RO plant into Tampa Bay estuary. Tampa Bay Desal...

Mykrolis IPO Faces Semiconductor Slump.
September 19, 2001... Mykrolis Corp. managed to raise $105 million in its initial public offering. Formerly the Microelectronics Division of Millipore Corp., the company was formed to deliver membrane technology and other products used to purify liquids and gases in...

Venture to Develop Oxygen Systems.
September 19, 2001... Praxair, Inc. and Litton Life Support have agreed to collaborate in the commercialization of an energy-efficient small-volume oxygen generation system that uses electricity and ceramic membranes to separate oxygen from air. The convenient...

Japan Sets Blood Filtration Policy.
September 19, 2001... Japan will join 11 other major industrialized nations in the implementation of a national blood policy that requires mandated universal leukocyte reduction of blood components used for transfusion. The Working Group under Japan's Ministry of...

AMBC Licenses Saliva-Based Assay.
September 19, 2001... Using technology licensed from Ansys Technologies, American Bio Medica Corp. will commercialize an onsite test for drugs of abuse that uses a saliva sample instead of urine. The rapid test kit processes results quicker than conventional assays,...

Grant Funds Solid Oxide Research.
September 19, 2001... On October 1, University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) researchers will begin a 3-yr. research project to develop a cheaper, more efficient fuel cell based on a zirconia membrane. Fueled by a $2.8 million grant from the DOE, UMR will lead a...

Briefly Noted:.
September 19, 2001... * Cape Coral Replaces RO Membranes. Technicians at Cape Coral, Florida's desalination plant will soon be replacing the filtration system's membranes with what may be the lowest priced elements ever purchased for an RO installation, according to...

CALENDAR.
September 19, 2001... October 13-17, 2001. WEFTEC 2001, 74th Conference and Exposition, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Contact: Water Environment Federation, 601 Wythe St, Alexandria, VA 22314-1994; Tel: 800/666-0206, Fax: 703/684-2471. ...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Membrane R&D Opportunities in the New Millennium.
September 19, 2001... By Mahesh J. Mehta, Vice President, Research & Development, Koch Membrane Systems, 850 Main Street, Wilmington, MA 01887 Membrane technology has rapidly developed over the last three decades covering industrial and laboratory needs of...

Mega Volume Water Filtration.
September 19, 2001... Fresh water, which represents less than 1% of the global water supply, is not only scarce, but contains contaminants which make it unfit for human consumption. An enormous market is developing for more sophisticated, but economic, purification...

Drinking Water.
September 19, 2001... In the United States, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) dictate stringent specifications. SWTR requires a 99.9% (3 log) removal and inactivation of Giardia and 99.99% (4 log) removal and inactivation...

Municipal Waste Water.
September 19, 2001... Recently, treatment of municipal wastewater by membrane filtration has been recognized as a cost-effective method of securing a new source of water in water scarce areas. Also more stringent municipal wastewater discharge regulations have been...

Future Trends.
September 19, 2001... In many parts of the world water contaminants such as pesticides, nitrites, hardness, and organic materials will dictate the need for nanofiltration membranes with higher productivity and lower operating costs. The use of chlorine in cleaning...

Industrial Waste Water.
September 19, 2001... Industrial wastewater and process water are becoming more and more important as the environment regulations are becoming more stringent. The cost of good quality water keeps rising due to scarcity of good water and global industrial expansion....

Pharma and Biotech.
September 19, 2001... In biopharmaceutical processes, tangential flow membrane filtration and chromatographic separations are quite common. At various stages in biopharm processes microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration technologies are implemented. For...

Chemical Processing.
September 19, 2001... In chemical processing industries, many filters are used at different stages of the process, yet membrane filtration applications (other than Gas separations) have remained confined to aqueous streams with moderate conditions of pH and...